100th Hunger Games: Is Blood Thicker?
by KxngOli
Summary: "On the one-hundredth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that they caused incessant amounts of pain to the families of Panem, the male and female tributes will be siblings of past tributes of their Districts, both victors and the deceased." [ SYOT / OPEN ]


_Caligula Sylla, Thirty-Eight Years Old  
President of Panem_

Caligula Sylla had always been an ambitious man. Wildly inventive, that was undeniable, but his lust and drive for power was no secret. Having been born in the year of the 62nd Hunger Games, it was often joked in the Capitol media that the Victor of those games, Enobaria, passed on her drive for life spiritually onto him. He had started life as a relatively low Capitol citizen in comparison to his presidential predecessors. His maternal grandmother, Serenity, had been one of the first ever Victors of the Hunger Games and had left her home in District One for the Capitol once she became an even bigger celebrity than most other victors. She laid the foundations for the archetype of one of the most overused strategies from a District One female; act ditsy and clueless whilst biding time to reveal a bloodthirsty monster. She had wanted to stay on One, it had been said, but the President at the time had forced her into moving and threatening to send her twelve-year-old brother into the next Games if she refused to comply. Serenity had rejected the elderly President's advancements once she had moved into his own home on his request and instead chose to marry her former stylist; a protégé of a man who was only three years her senior at twenty to her seventeen. Though this had enraged the President enough to banish her from his residence thus starting the bad standing for herself and her future children in the Capitol, it was said that Serenity didn't care and that the profit from her husband's boutique was enough to keep them afloat.

And Caligula's father? Well, nobody really knew where he had come from, not even Caligula himself. The Capitol media had speculated he was an escapee from one of the Outer Districts but even then there was no evidence to suggest such a thing. It was undeniable that the man, someone who looked good in his late fifties during his son's Presidential campaign, captured the hearts of the Capitolites for that very reason, so much so that a story of how he came from a distant land beyond the waters of District Four became an accepted truth. He never confirmed or denied any rumours, instead basking in the glory and attention that he had never experienced before.

In any case, Caligula Sylla went from a man who was little more than a looked down upon gamemaker to the most feared man in all of Panem. There was little love for him from most of the citizens, only fear. Naturally the Districts harboured more contempt for him than the Capitol but, as a whole, he struck fear rather than hope into the nation. He proved to be reminiscent of one Cornelius Snow, with his punishments rivalling the famed President. Was it a reputation Caligula liked? Admittedly, no. Did it boost his ego? Undeniably - if how extravagant his Quell announcement stage was any indication.

Glory always appeared to be one of the main motives behind most, if not all, of his actions as president. Instead of funding education, Peacekeepers or the Games themselves, Caligula would construct impressive examples of architecture with each new thing bearing his name proudly. It became early on in his premiership that, if an action could not glorify him to the citizens of Panem, it was of little worth or importance to him. Much of the day to day running of the country had been liquidated down the Capitol's elite, Caligula himself being left with the things that were mundane and easy to do; things that required minimal effort.

In fact, Caligula's glory had been the source of a lot of discord amongst his personal elite with many disagreeing with him - even if it meant glorifying the Capitol at the expense of the Districts.

* * *

_"I'm near positive the Districts will figure out that money that should've gone towards their tesserae will be used for this stage," Euphoria, Caligula's private assistant, had said, "We won't be able to deny it Sir."_

_"The Districts don't know any better," Caligula had replied, a dismissive wave of his hand accompanying his words, "Besides, if they didn't have so many kids they wouldn't be in the predicament they're in, no?"_

_"Excessive offspring roughly makes up only fifteen percent of tesserae sponsors, Sir. The rest is caused by unemployment or the death of a providing family member. If anything we should be doing something that at least sparks a bit of ho-"_

_"And this should offer some joy during their time of bereavement and misery. A glimmer of hope, if you will. I will not be going back on preparations, Euphoria, so do what I've asked and allow for the production to commence."_

_"Yes, Sir."_

_The Quell announcement was just as extravagant as Caligula had promised his staff; as he had promised the Capitol and the Districts. He didn't know, nor care if he was being frank, what level of contempt the Districts harboured for it; for him, the event was the for the Capitol and the history books, both of which would remember it was lavish and something to stand the tests of time._

* * *

Caligula had learnt very quickly into his ascent up the Capitol power ladder that Quells were often decided that year and that the story of there being hundreds of little white cards with the twists written out was fabricated to divert suspicion. He had questioned what factors went into making such a decision and was met with the answer to consider the Third Quarter Quell and the context of it in Panem history. He then had asked, hypothetically speaking, if there lacked an issue to intimidate the Districts on to which the Head Gamemaker of the time, Taurus Bellerose, simply said the President decided. That had truly been a defining moment in Caligula's dream of becoming President; the power to decide what fear he installed into the Districts even beyond the Hunger Games in themselves excited him.

He had contemplated for months leading up to the Quell announcement day on what the Quell should be. Nobody in Panem's elite had any doubts that the Quell would be anything less than interesting and gripping for the Capitol yet diabolical and harsh for the Districts but, what they did question, was just _how_ far Caligula would go. In truth he had many ideas, notable ones being that the reaping pool would be comprised of single parents or have each tribute forgo a random sense and, perhaps most dastardly, forcing pregnant women to be the tributes. He had, of course, kept all of those to himself. He found that revealing the Quells he came up with on his own allowed those around him to see a deeper side of him. As Head Gamemaker, sure, people learn a lot about you but Caligula knew there was only so much arenas and mutts could say about someone. A Quell on the other hand? That was psychology gold and knew he wasn't ready to give that up just yet.

Days before the announcement, Caligula settled on something inspired by his conversation with Euphoria. Whilst it couldn't effect _everyone_ in all Districts, he was sure it would be intense in it's own special way.

* * *

On the day of the announcement of the Fourth Quarter Quell, the Capitol looked nothing short of lavish - even more than usual. Everything had been done to amplify the colour, the joys and festivities that the Capitol was having at the expense of the Districts. With a dress code of neon and bright colours, the crowds of Capitolites who sat at the many stands looked more akin to a sea of colour, distinguishable only by their hands that waved flowers and bits of cloth in the direction of where the president would stand. Any and all columns were interconnected with sheets of purple, gold and silver veils and were wrapped individually with coiling rose plants of all colours. Flags of Panem flew near everywhere and the Horn of Plenty was played at different sounds and speeds across the Capitol. In short, it was nothing short of the grandeur that Caligula had promised; exhilarating for the Capitol but an excuse for the Districts to harbour contempt.

Although he was a man known to keep his appearance looking clean with short, jet black hair and often in well tailored suits, Caligula Sylla donned a new look - one that pushed him away from being President Sylla to perhaps King Caligula. His hair had been dyed a golden blonde, a standout against the brunettes he intentional surrounded himself with as he took to the podium. Though his tailored suit remained, instead of a midnight blue or black that he was infamous for, he instead wore white with a golden tie. A purple rose was nestled neatly in his breast pocket and fine details around the collar were purple too, flecks of gold evident if the camera zoomed in on him. Most strikingly of all, and most abnormal of him, was that he wore a billowing cloak that was said to be like the ones ancient monarchs of distant lands would don. It was red in colour and, if he were to turn around, the emblem of Panem would be visible for all to see. In short, next to his attendants who wore muted greys and blacks, Caligula was a cathartic sight. It wouldn't take anyone long in his elite circle that the expenses he had been so willing to snatch from the Districts went on his outfit, _not_ the ceremony itself. Besides, as he had once remarked to Euphoria - _"I'm_ the star of the announcement."

Caligula was nothing short of confident. His excuded a charisma that made all the Capitolites scream for him - interrupting him multiple times. Though for some presidents that may have been tiresome, for Caligula it allowed him to indulge in an arrogance that had manifested massively since taking office. Instead of a speech about the Hunger Games, the history and why Quarter Quells were important, he simply held the neat envelope that held the twist.

Naturally, the crowd hushed after a few seconds, allowing Caligula to open the envelope and indulge in all the attention in Panem being directed at him.

"On the one-hundredth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that they caused incessant amounts of pain to the families of Panem, the male and female tributes will be siblings to past tributes of their Districts, both victors and the deceased."

The Capitol, as one might expect with their love for tributes resembling that of love for athletes, applauded the Quell and rumours and speculation emerged quickly on which siblings may volunteer and who might prevail. Hopes of a sibling following in their siblings' footsteps and being a victor like Gloss and Cashmere were rife and, for the next few days, the Capitol enjoyed recaps on which tributes had siblings and who could then be reaped. Bets cropped up on who could be reaped, who may volunteer and, of those, who would win.

The Districts, on the other hand, had a much more divided reaction. For some in One, Two and Four the idea of having a second victor child enamoured sets of parents whilst others saw it as a chance to do better on their volunteering children who never won their Games. For others, reapable teens saw it as a way to enact revenge on the District who housed their sibling's killer yet many in the Districts, especially those who had lost their children before, saw it as what it was - a cruel way to destroy their family further. Some parents went to bed that night sobbing whilst others hugged their children a little harder. In the aftermath of the announcement, a lot of sibling rivalries in the non-Career Districts died down, an appreciation for one another's companies settling in, whilst in One, Two and Four, they thrived like never before.

And for Caligula? Well, he basked in all the glory he saw of achieving a popular Quarter Quell idea.

* * *

**Hi everyone! I hope this prologue drums up enough support to get some tributes being sent in and also to give everyone a feel for my writing style and nuances. **

**I will, however, apologise as this is the first time I've seriously tried to write a story in the past tense as opposed to present; it's still a bit unnatural to me as I'm sure is evident at points. I've gone over this a few times before publishing to iron out any tense changes but, if some remain, forgive me! Hopefully I'll ease back into writing this way ASAP. :)**

**But yes! The Quell is that all tributes are siblings to past ones! This means we might see the siblings of a Victor and the final tribute they had to kill to win meet in the arena! I hope there'll be a lot of drama!**

**On my profile is another link to the google form where you can submit your trainees. After a couple of weeks I'll be posting another prologue chapter - more than likely from the perspective of the previous Victor - where the tribute list will be announced! Though I doubt we'll be able to have _everyone_ accounted for tributes wise, I can always hope!**

_**Form:**** /AyB5ZZ9fGPXyZwTZ6**_

**The rules (and other info to aid in submitting a tribute!) are as follows;**

**\- Everyone can submit a maximum of two tributes, however they _must_ be from different Districts. **

**\- As I won't be disclosing the chosen tributes for each District, I may get multiple entries for a specific spot. In that case, I will pick the one I think will best contribute to the story as the official tribute. If I do like your tribute that is not picked for that District, however, they may be picked for another District if alternatives are provided.**

**\- Although the reaping ages are the standard 12 to 18, there is no limit as to what the age gap of the siblings are; a tribute born when their parents were forty can be reaped as the sibling of a tribute born to the same parents when they were sixteen and died in the Games at the age of twelve when their parents would then be twenty-eight. The only types of siblings who are exempt from this are step-siblings, as in, a fourteen year-old cannot be reaped as the sibling of a tribute who died twenty years ago.**

**\- _ALL_ types of siblings may be reaped; full, half and step. Unbeknown to Panem, more names are entered for the twins, triplets, etc of past tributes.**

**\- Please don't make every tribute a sibling of a victor! A few are fun but a large number is just excessive and won't be as enjoyable to write. Give me some tributes who are the siblings of those who died first, who died stupidly or sacrificed themselves! Anything goes!**

**\- There will be no reservations.**

**\- For my own HG universe, by this point in the history of the Games, Districts Seven and Ten are unofficial Career Districts in that, whilst they don't train their tributes, there is a tendency for them to ally with the Careers. Whether or not the tributes from these Districts adhere to this is up to you but, be aware that it may crop up! Additionally, as punishment for the Second Rebellion, District Thirteen now offers up tributes. A short background to that is that District Thirteen was bombed extensively, so much so that the population was small enough to have graphite mining as their only industry (having been too populous before to have such a limiting industry) and any and all weapons they had were taken for the Capitol's gain.**

**\- Most importantly, I hope everyone enjoys the SYOT! **

**Thank you for reading and submitting (if you do!). Reviews always make me happy!**

**\- Oli**

**27TH JULY UPDATE: I will now be accepting PM submissions! Please check my profile for the form! Although google docs is the preferred method, I am happy to accept PMs.**


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